National Grid customers to receive safety check visits

We’ll be visiting customers’ properties in Somerset from next week as part of a safety inspection programme.

Domestic and small business customers in parts of Bath and Weston-super-Mare will receive visits from 1 October so we can check that service termination points inside properties are working as they should. The service termination point, also known as a cut-out, is the indoor location where the main incoming electricity service cable and fuse is situated, in most cases close to the electricity meter.

Inspectors will visually inspect equipment and record basic details. No disassembly work will be carried out and customers’ power supplies will not be interrupted while inspections occur.

Inspections will take place in the Twerton area of Bath and the Bournville and Worle areas of Weston-super-Mare.

We’re aiming to complete 400,000 inspections of cut-outs in homes and small businesses across the South West, South Wales and the Midlands every year in a rolling programme over the next 20 years.

We have an Ofgem licence obligation to carry out asset inspections to ensure cut-outs at low voltage metered properties are operating safely.

Policy Engineer Richard Brady, who is heading the inspection programme, said: “The UK is recognised internationally as having one of the most resilient and safe energy systems and this inspection programme underlines our commitment to the highest safety standards.

“Inspectors will visually examine cut-outs to check they are working as they should, taking photos and notes for our records. In the unlikely event of a defective cut-out being found, NGED engineers will be sent to carry out repairs at no cost to the customer.

“Visits will also be an opportunity to confirm what types of low-carbon technologies (LCT) are connected to our network, for example electric vehicle chargers and solar panels, to help our planning for future load growth on the network, and enable LCT items to be connected quicker in the future as we will have records of the cut-out asset on site and its condition.

“These are important safety visits but we understand they could be inconvenient for customers and apologise in advance if this is the case.”

Inspectors will be clearly identifiable as working for National Grid Electricity Distribution and will be able to present ID and authorisation to enter properties.

Customers will have the option of taking their own photographs of their cut-out and meter and sending them to us. A decision will then be made if a follow-up visit is needed.